THE JESUS PROJECT: AN ARTISTIC DEFINITION OF THE SACRED FEMININE A Thesis by MIRIANA ILIEVA Submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE December 2003 Major Subject: Visualization Sciences THE JESUS PROJECT: AN ARTISTIC DEFINITION OF THE SACRED FEMININE A Thesis by MIRIANA ILIEVA Submitted to Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Approved as to style and content by: 0 0 Carol LaFayette Karen Hillier (Chair of Committee) (Member) 0 0 Andruid Kerne Phillip Tabb s ss(Member) (Head of Department) December 2003 Major Subject: Visualization Sciences iii ABSTRACT The Jesus Project: an Artistic Definition of the Sacred Feminine. (December 2003) Miriana Ilieva, B.A., Smith College Chair of Advisory Committee: Prof. Carol LaFayette This thesis presents The Jesus: a project about the representation of the Crucifixion in Renaissance art. After determining the cultural codes for depicting women, it is established that Renaissance representations of the Crucifixion portray Christ in an extraordinarily feminine and sensual light. The development of the project is documented in terms of the creative process and the conceptual and darkroom experiments involved in the creation of the artwork. Finally, contemporary artworks similar to The Jesus are discussed in the context of religious imagery. iv DEDICATION In memory of my grandfather Valtcho Michailov. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my committee chair Carol LaFayette for her dedicated guidance, strong commitment, encouragement and care. Thank you to Karen Hillier and Andruid Kerne for their wonderful support and great input. Thank you to everyone who was involved in the making of this project: Felice House and Trina Cooper, to name but a few. Thank you to Meridel Rubenstein for providing me with the technical basis for this project and to Roger Boyce for initiating my discourse with contemporary art. Thank you to my family. Most of all: thank you Jeff Groves for your love and attention, efforts, patience and tolerance. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii DEDICATION............................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................ v TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................. viii INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 FEMININE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE CRUCIFIX....................................... 5 Cultural Codes for Masculine and Feminine Representations in Western Art .............................................. 5 Is Christ’s Image Feminine?.......................................................................... 7 CHRIST’S FEMININITY ON THE CROSS............................................................. 9 The Feminine Aspects of the Crucifixion in Renaissance Art ............................................................ 9 Early Examples of Sensual Christs: Cimabue’s Christ................................... 14 Beauty and Eroticism...................................................................................... 15 Martyrdom and Sexuality............................................................................... 17 Masochism and Martyrdom............................................................................ 21 METHODOLOGY AND IMPLEMENTATION...................................................... 26 Choosing the Model and the setting, and Shooting the Image........................................................ 26 Image Compositing ....................................................................................... 29 Analysis and Improvement of the Initial Composite..................................... 31 Additional Images for Testing....................................................................... 36 Methodology for the Presentation of the Image............................................ 39 Implementation for the Presentation of the Image........................................ 44 SUMMARY AND RESULTS.................................................................................. 58 Analysis of the Final Print............................................................................ 58 Comparisons................................................................................................. 59 vii Page IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AND CONCLUSION.................. 65 NOTES..................................................................................................................... 67 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 73 APPENDIX A ......................................................................................................... 77 VITA ....................................................................................................................... 79 viii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE Page 1 The Jesus ............................................................................................................. 1 2 Raphael, Crucifixion ........................................................................................... 2 3 Calvin Klein Advertisement 1............................................................................. 6 4 Calvin Klein Advertisement 2 ............................................................................ 6 5 Calvin Klein Advertisement 3............................................................................. 6 6 Calvin Klein Advertisement 4............................................................................. 7 7 Pietro Perugino, Crucifixion ................................................................................ 10 8 Roger van der Weyden, Crucifixion .................................................................... 11 9 Lucas Cranach, Crucifixion …………................................................................ 11 10 Duccio, Crucifixion............................................................................................ 12 11 Antonello da Messina, Crucifixion.................................................................... 12 12 Matthias Grünewald, Crucifixion...................................................................... 14 13 Hans Holbein the Younger, Dead Christ .......................................................... 14 14 Cimabue, Crucifix ............................................................................................. 15 15 Andrea Mantegna, St. Sebastian........................................................................ 18 16 Antonello da Messina, St. Sebastian................................................................. 19 17 Bernini, Ecstacy of St. Theresa............................................................................ 20 18 After Guido Reni (1575-1642), Head of Christ Crowned With Thorns ............. 22 19 Unidentified (Spanish), Ecce Homo …….......................................................... 23 20 Guido Cagnacci (1601-1681), Young Martyr...................................................... 23 ix FIGURE Page 21 Original photograph of flooded woods.............................................................. 29 22 Original photograph of model…....................................................................... 30 23 Cross constructed from trees in the background of the landscape..................... 30 24 Crown of thorns, wound and nails..................................................................... 30 25 Final initial composite with retouching completed........................................... 31 26 Focusing on the figure……………................................................................... 32 27 Finalized inage………………............................................................................ 33 28 Julia Margaret Cameron, My Grandchild Aged 2 Years and 3 Months ............. 34 29 Johann Carl Enslen, Christuskopf …………..................................................... 35 30 Development of the idea of the connection of the cross to earth........................ 36 31 Unsuccessful attempts to unite the idea of Jesus’ femininity with the connection of the cross to earth…....................... 36 32 Additional versions of the image….................................................................... 37 33 Unidentified, Deux Femmes en Croix................................................................ 39 34 Léon Bovier, Le Christ au tombeau.................................................................... 40 35 Fred Holland Day, Untitled (Crucifix with Roman Soldiers).............................. 40 36 Fred Holland Day, I Thirst..……….................................................................... 41 37 Jean Gaumy, Hospital………………................................................................... 41 38 Bettina Rheims, Crown of Thorns ....................................................................... 41 39 Robert Mapplethorpe, Christ ………….............................................................